Listening to music on the tube could be dangerous, says research

Apr 16, 2013 in Hearing Protection

Listening to music on the tube could be dangerous, says research

A new report by Echo Barrier has suggested that listening to music on the London Underground could be as bad for your ears then operating drills on a construction site on a daily basis.

The news comes just before Noise Awareness Day (April 24th), and suggests that listening to music on portable devices could be potentially dangerous to your future hearing, especially if volumes are too high. The research revealed that many commuters were having their volume up to 100dB, which is close to the 120dB of sound that construction drills on average will churn out. However, whilst workers will often use ear protection, or hearing muffs, many are allowing their favourite tunes to be this loud in their ears without any defence.

Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Peter Wilson, technical director at Echo Barrier, said: “Those who set the volume too high on their iPods really need to take note. Millions of Londoners take the Tube to and from work, sometimes journeys up to an hour each way, and during that time they are blasting 100dB into their ears which is extremely unhealthy.”

This report comes after recent figures by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, which revealed that nearly a million of people in the UK have to deal with noises at least 85dB loud at work, with airport ground staff and F1 drivers topping the bill of the nosiest jobs. By using hearing protection or earplugs, employers need to be more aware of what risks are being posed to the hearing of their employees through noise pollution.

Industry experts will hope that Noise Awareness Day will raise public knowledge about the dangers that loud noises can bring to one’s hearing.